jakarta, the capital of independent nearby ya. it's said to be the world's most congested city. although jakarta's population is dense, standing at around 10 million. it still lacks an adequate

public transport network. when traffic is gridlocked, motorbikes are the quickest way of getting around. >> in fact a new motorbike business is rapidly expanding. motorbike taxis. 50 customers sit behind the driver. there are now hundreds of thousands of motorbike taxis nationwide. the brisk expansion of the app, customers can call a motorbike taxi with ease. it was made in january 2015, gaining widespread popularity.

indonesia's first online motorbike taxi service was started by a young entrepreneur >> . in this episode of asia insig insight. >> this market company is under

contract from overseas corporations. eva melita is one of the company's leading researchers. she heard about a smart phone application for hailing taxis a year ago. since then, she regularly uses the service. a gps function identifies the nearest available motorbikes. there are about 10 at the moment. >> the fare is determined by distance. once the order is placed. eva receives a call from the drive driver. >> hello.

>> the driver arrives five minutes later. >> a mask to cut out exhaust fumes. and a hair net for hygiene services because helmets are shared. eva is visiting a transport company in another part of the city. it's nearly 5:00 and the evening rush hour is about to begin destination is 13 kilometers away, and she can't afford to be late.

40 minutes later roughly two u.s. dollars. eva is able to start her meeting on time it lasts for about one ho hour. she also hires a motorbike taxi for the ride home.

>> the economy was hit by the asian financial crisis in 1997. since 2000 the country has recovered. incomes have risen and the middle class has expanded resulting in increased automobile ownership and ever worsening traffic problems in jakarta. in 2003, the local authorities took action to try to address the congestion. restricted areas were

established that only gave access to vehicles carrying three or more people this, however, only aggravated the problem, leading people to avoid restricted areas. more and more people turned to motorbike taxis instead in indonesia, privately operated motorbike taxis are known as ojack. passengers must negotiate directly with the driver, disputes are common >> in 2011, he established

indonesia's motor bike taxi. he named his company goja he discussed his motivation in a television interview. why did you start the motorbike taxi business. living in jakarta, i was frustrated with the constant traffic jams. with regular taxis, i was often late for meetings. that's why i've always been a frequent user of motorbike taxis. however, they were also inconvenient. it was a struggle to find an available motorbike on the street. this also means that efficiency is poor for the drivers. they consider themselves lucky to pick up three or four passengers in a 14 hour shift. that's why they try to make a lot of money off a single ride

and set high prices. >> he requires his drivers to wear helmets and jackets marked with the company logo, and ensures they charge passengers according to the distance travelled. originally customers would telephone a call center to telephone a taxi. this meant they had to wait for at least 20 minutes. however. nadeem was soon able to take advantage of a major change sweeping across indonesian society. smart phones were becoming popular. around 10 million people in indonesia owned a smart phone. by 2014, that number had risen to more than 40 million. >> at the time there were far

more motorbike taxis than regular automobile taxis in jakarta. i thought there was huge business potential if the drivers and customers could be brought together. there had been dramatic growth in smart phone ownership among the general public. the middle class was growing with more and more people beginning to buy smart phones. that is why i came up with an idea to connect available drivers with customers. i wanted to offer a service that would get them to their destinations on time. >> in january 2015, the dean replaced his existing call service with a smart phone application. the app was distributed for free. in just 18 months, it had been

downloaded by more than 17 million people. at the time the company was opened they had 1,000 motorbikes. the company has expanded to more than jakarta to service other indonesian locations. he started out with a handful of staff. now employs 1,500. in august 2015, gojec held a registration rally.

>> the company checks each applicants driving license and motorbike certification. eligible applicants begin training immediately. they're instructed on how to carry their passengers. >> amak has been driving for 15

years and registered with gojec last year. today's a saturday, he sets out at 8:00 in the morning. his first passengers are his wife and daughters. personally he takes his eldest daughter to his wife's parents. then he carries on to the nursery where his wife works. now anon can start work in ernest.

on weekends, he waits in nonresidential areas. while they're on duty, the drivers are free to wait wherever they like. drivers pay 20% of their takings to the company and keep the rest. when a customer places an order, a message goes out to nearby drivers. drivers who want to take a job must reply within 15 seconds. >> gojec selects one driver from those who respond. the chosen driver can speak directly to the customer. anon places a call.

>> hello -- >> five minutes later he picks up the customer. the passenger wants to go to a sports facility. the fare is around 1 pngt 80. along the way, it starts to rain. anon shelters with a passenger under the shop front. >> he takes this opportunity to fill up his motorbike with

gasoli gasoline. the rain shows no sign of letting up, so anon continues on. they arrive safely. >> he contacts his company to tell them his job is complete at 11:30 anon stops by his house

to have some lunch. anon's wife she works at the nursery in the morning and returns home before her husband to make lunch as today is a school holiday, the whole family can eat together. he works late most days, so he's always delighted to have lunch with his loved ones.

♪ >> anon's income has doubled since he became a taxi drive er

>> he naps until 2:00 in the afternoon. he needs to save his energy to work past 10:00 at night. following the success. ordo meftic and overseas companies are trying to make inroads into the online motorbike taxi business. one new entrance is a u.s. based online transportation network company, operating worldwide. another is based in singapore and does most of its business in

southeast asia. there are 40 motorbike taxi dispatch firms across indonesia. the young entrepreneur has harnessed i.t. to revolutionize the taxi business. even the overseas media has taken an interest in his success. >> in august 2015, he was invited to take part in a forum. >> smart phone ownership has spread rapidly in the last few years. in fact within five years, i think all indonesians will own a smart phone what we now need is to build new businesses that will harness this new technology.

>> i am extremely impressed with the achievements of gocej. it's important to take a broad perspective toward future developments. >> i know this is a very important and pressing issue for the government, and i feel its indispensable for the development of our country. >> however, the rapid increase of online motorbike taxis represents a significant threat to existing operators up until now, commonly used modes of transport are known as bajai. shared taxis. and standard automobile taxis.

they're all required to get operating permits from the ministry of transportation all of these vehicles use yellow number plates. yousef is 35. two years ago, he started to drive a standard taxi. while waiting for

passengers, the taxi drivers often discuss how difficult it's become to earn a live g >> in 2015, the minister of transportation had decided to

ban online motorbike taxis. the reason given at the time was that under the current law taxis must have at least three wheels and a permit of ministry. online motorbike taxis do not meet these conditions, they are illegal and should be banned. the following day, the president asked the minister to rescind this order. >> i really don't want to make any decision that will penalize or hurt anyone i'm aware that the public needs these motorbike taxi

taxis. >> current law does not recognize motorbikes as a mode of public transportation. however our public transport network is insufficient. as we are not meeting our citizens needs, the motorbike taxis have to make up the difference, it can't be helped. we have to say, go ahead if you want to. >> today the government has decided to remove the ban on online motorbike taxis. gojec's 200 taxi drivers are extremely grateful for the president's decision on this issue 37. >> he also thanked the president in a post on the company's facebook page he praised the president's decision as a victory of the democratic economy. however, the government has not yet made an official

announcement on whether the company will be given official legal status. in january 2016 another online motorbike business was launched. the company was founded by former university professor and his former students. they're targeting a new customer segment the company has developed its own smart phone application application.

>> the company currently has 700 motorbike taxi drivers and is aiming to raise that number to 5,000. the introduction of a single smart phone application has had a dramatic effect on transportations in indonesia. all eyes are on the future progress of the online motorbike taxi business.

a very warm welcome to nhk "newsline." it's nine a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. torrential rain has triggered serious flooding and landslides in southwest japan. police say at least nine people are missing, including three officials who were monitoring road nearly 500,000 residents in the prefectures have been ordered or advised to evacuate. many houses have already been flooded.